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Archive 2015 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica

  
 
e6filmuser
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica


We were returning to our hotel after a walk around the village. It was late afternoon and the sun was getting low. As I walked past a huge tree,which was growing out of the pavement, I noticed some flying insects close to a clef in the trunk, on the side away form the path. A close look told me it was a hornets' nest.

I am aware that hornets tend not to be so aggressive as wasps but I had to be cautious. To get shots, I had to insert myself between the tree and a large, hotel-type wheelie bin. So retreat was not easy.

I had my Olympus AF 14-42mm zoom on the camera. Using the harsh sunlight and aperture priority, I was using ISO 200 at 40mm, 1/250 and apertures of 7 to f9. As the hornets became more active in my direction I remembered the fine attributes of my 4/3 30-300mm, the 300mm being a mere bonus!

I then used 300mm at about f7 and 1/320.

As I became aware of a BIF in close vicinity to my left ear I decided that I could not longer resist the attractions of the hotel bar and a cool beer!

I post the images in shooting sequence. All have been cropped moderately.

Harold



© Harold Gough 2015





© Harold Gough 2015





© Harold Gough 2015





© Harold Gough 2015





© Harold Gough 2015




Apr 28, 2015 at 01:30 AM
e6filmuser
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica


More.

Harold



© Harold Gough 2015





© Harold Gough 2015





© Harold Gough 2015





© Harold Gough 2015




Apr 28, 2015 at 01:54 AM
Dalantech
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica


Nice sequence

Braver than me -I won't go near a hornet's nest. The ones out here as a lot more aggressive than the wasps.



Apr 28, 2015 at 04:09 AM
e6filmuser
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica


Dalantech wrote:
Nice sequence

Braver than me -I won't go near a hornet's nest. The ones out here as a lot more aggressive than the wasps.


Thanks, John.

Having worked with honeybees for over 20 years, and dealt with a few wasps, I think I know when to retreat. I am probably a bit overconfident, and I can't run as fast as I used to.

Harold



Apr 28, 2015 at 05:54 AM
surfnron
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica


Very interesting Harold. How big were these guys? ~ Ron


Apr 28, 2015 at 07:37 AM
e6filmuser
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica


surfnron wrote:
Very interesting Harold. How big were these guys? ~ Ron


Thanks, Ron.

They are about twice the length of a typical social wasp, 25mm or an inch long. The rather reddish colour is another distinguishing feature.

Most of the work I did on these images was to brighten the shadow detail.

Harold



Apr 28, 2015 at 08:34 AM
LordV
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica


Braver than me Harold- they seem to missing some clarity though
Brian v.



Apr 28, 2015 at 08:44 AM
e6filmuser
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica


LordV wrote:
Braver than me Harold- they seem to missing some clarity though
Brian v.


Thanks, Brian.

Neither lens was one of my macro lenses and I would have relied on AF, so they are a bit mixed for focus. (Manual focus with these is so fiddly that I don't even try). My wife was disappearing ahead of me so I couldn't set up flash.

Harold



Apr 28, 2015 at 09:04 AM
KanekiKaleido
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica


Hello Harold,

thank you for sharing. Your photos are beautiful, but I would not like to be in your place. You took a big risk by approaching the hornet's nest.

I also have a wasp problem at home. I live in an old renovated farmhouse and there are wasps that have made their nest under the roof. They enter through the windows and sting me often. It's very unpleasant and painful.

I don't know how to get rid of these wasps. I saw on the internet that there are solutions, but I don't know if they are effective and safe. For example, I saw an anti-waspproduct. . It seems very practical and ecological. Do you know this product? Have you ever used it? Do you recommend it to me? Or do you have other solutions to offer me?

Thank you in advance for your advice.



Dec 28, 2023 at 10:53 PM
e6filmuser
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica


I understand bees and wasps (hornets are large wasps) so I was in no danger at the distance I was away.

We had queen wasps emerging from our loft almost every day in November. These were mated queens dispersing to hibernate.

Wasps don't overwinter in their nests. Yours will soon be gone from the nest. These means the nest can be dealt with safely in the winter. If you can get at it, remove it. Otherwise apply pesticide or get a professional to do it. If you apply pesticide in the warmer months some make the wasps more aggressive for a while.

Harold



Dec 29, 2023 at 12:41 AM
Phil Seu
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica


Yikes. Pretty scary to me.

Phil



Dec 29, 2023 at 08:53 AM
Danpbphoto
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica


I also give the "right-away" to anything that can sting Harold!
They can smell fear in humans so I let them be!
Nice work despite....mate!
Happy New Year!
Dan



Dec 29, 2023 at 10:58 AM
e6filmuser
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica


Phil Seu wrote:
Yikes. Pretty scary to me.

Phil


That means the warning colours are doing their job. Better to warn than to be violent.

Harold



Dec 29, 2023 at 01:14 PM
e6filmuser
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica


Danpbphoto wrote:
I also give the "right-away" to anything that can sting Harold!
They can smell fear in humans so I let them be!
Nice work despite....mate!
Happy New Year!
Dan


They will not attack when smelling fear. They may do so if they smell venom on you, for example, if you have accidentally crushed one.

Bees and wasps act only in defence of the nest.

Africanised bees are the exception, because they were selected by human collection of honey from the less-fierce ones.

Harold



Dec 29, 2023 at 01:19 PM
gmccroskery
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica


I've been stung by a Red Hornet it left a mark on my hand that is still there years later. Honey Bees I'm careful to protect, wasps I generally leave alone unless they build their nests too close to my home entrances or exits. However, when I see hornets they are 'toast'. I actually bought a cheap 'Bee Keeper' suit a couple years back for the purpose of doing battle if needed.
I was stung numerous times by aggressive honey bees while mowing my lawn a few years back. I wasn't paying very close attention and got close to the side of my house with the lawn mower. It turns out that we had a hive of about 30,000 bees between the floors of our two story home. We called a bee removal pro to relocate them to a safe place. The guy had to cut out a section of a bedroom floor upstairs to remove 7 honey plates! Sadly, we had to watch the workers attempt to come back to the house for several weeks until they died off. Bees I love, hornets I have no use for.
Here are a few photos of the side of our house before and after the hive was moved:







Before Hive removal







After Hive removal







After Hive removal -- workers trying to figure out where the queen went :-(




Dec 29, 2023 at 01:23 PM
Danpbphoto
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica


e6filmuser wrote:
They will not attack when smelling fear. They may do so if they smell venom on you, for example, if you have accidentally crushed one.

Bees and wasps act only in defence of the nest.

Africanised bees are the exception, because they were selected by human collection of honey from the less-fierce ones.

Harold

Thanks for the info Harold. I tend to leave any insect that has a stinger alone!
While I don't fear them, I give them their space!
YES to honey bees! They are dwindling rapidly! Our plants, flowers, trees need their pollen to procreate!
Thanks again mate!
Dan



Edited on Dec 29, 2023 at 01:49 PM · View previous versions



Dec 29, 2023 at 01:28 PM
e6filmuser
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica


gmccroskery wrote:
I was stung numerous times by aggressive honey bees while mowing my lawn a few years back. I wasn't paying very close attention and got close to the side of my house with the lawn mower.


Bees don't like the sound/vibration of machinery.

gmccroskery wrote:
Sadly, we had to watch the workers attempt to come back to the house for several weeks until they died off.


The bees which died did so because they live only a few weeks in the summer, such that old age was the cause, not the move.

Harold



Dec 29, 2023 at 01:40 PM
gmccroskery
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica


e6filmuser wrote:
Bees don't like the sound/vibration of machinery.

The bees which died did so because they live only a few weeks in the summer, such that old age was the cause, not the move.

Harold


Yes, I understand why they died. It just seemed sad that they were out gathering pollen, etc. and returned to the Hive to find it gone. It would be like going to work at the office, and coming home in the evening to find your family and all your belongings gone. :-)

Greg



Dec 29, 2023 at 02:28 PM
e6filmuser
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Stirring Up a Hornets' Nest in Corsica


gmccroskery wrote:
Yes, I understand why they died. It just seemed sad that they were out gathering pollen, etc. and returned to the Hive to find it gone. It would be like going to work at the office, and coming home in the evening to find your family and all your belongings gone. :-)

Greg


This is why, when bees are moved, in sealed hives, to a new location, the minimum distance is 3 miles, far enough to be away from familiar landmarks for the bees.

Harold



Dec 29, 2023 at 03:08 PM





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